No Second Thoughts
by Kristen3
Summary: Niles thinks that he's lost Daphne all over again, but he couldn't be more wrong. A one-shot rewrite of the ending of "Moons Over Seattle."


**Author's Note:**Not that I don't absolutely love "Moons Over Seattle," or the way it ended. But I just wanted to see if I could make this scene any more melt-worthy than it already was. Hopefully I have! ;) Thanks to Andrea (iloveromance) for unwittingly suggesting this to me over the phone! Also thanks to Leigh Ann for reading this and offering feedback as I wrote. Please R&R! :)

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><p>I had been pacing around my apartment for the past hour, trying to figure out how things became such a mess. All I've ever wanted was to make Daphne happy. And I truly thought that bringing her father here from Manchester was what she wanted. But it didn't work out like I hoped. Now I wasn't even sure if Daphne would ever speak to me again, much less marry me. After so many years of worshipping her from afar, I finally had a chance to love her the way I've always wanted to. And now I had lost her all over again. I still remember sitting in that Winnebago, thinking I'd reached the lowest point of my existence. But that was a picnic compared to what I was feeling now. And the worst part of it was, I had no idea how to fix this and regain Daphne's trust.<p>

Suddenly I heard someone banging at my door. I sighed, frustrated. "Frasier, if that's you, I really don't want to hear -" But when I opened the door, it was not my older brother standing there. Before I could even think, Daphne kissed me and then hugged me as she never had before. When we finally separated, Daphne smiled at my confused expression. "What-?" I sputtered, barely able to believe this was really happening. Daphne began tugging my hand, pulling me towards the door. I just stood there in confusion.

"Come _on_!" Daphne said finally. "Do you want to marry me, or what?"

"Of course I do," I replied immediately. "I've wanted to marry you since the first time I saw you."

Daphne leaned forward then and kissed me. "Then we'd better get moving!" she announced and once again began pulling me out the door.

"Not that I'm not thrilled to marry you," I said. "But, may I ask what changed your mind?"

Daphne let go of my hand. "You did." The look on her face nearly made my knees weak. I could hardly believe she could still look at me that way after what I'd done.

"I don't understand," I replied. "I made a terrible mistake, just running off like that without talking to you about it first. I never should have -" Daphne stopped me mid-sentence by putting her finger on my lips.

"Shhh," she said. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I think what you did was wonderful."

Then I took her hand and brought it to my lips, kissing it. "You're very sweet to say so, but I had no business getting involved in your family. The whole thing was a disaster."

"It wasn't a _total _disaster," Daphne corrected me. "I got to see me dad for the first time in years. And it's all because of _you_. You were only trying to do the same thing you've always tried to do, make me happy."

"Oh, my love," I whispered, as I reached over and touched her incredibly soft cheek. "That's all I've ever wanted to do. Since the first day I met you."

"And you have made me happy," Daphne said, kissing me once more. "More than I could have ever dreamed of. That's why we have to get going. I've decided I can't wait another second for us to start sharing our lives. We need to get married _right now_."

I kissed Daphne one more time. How long had I waited to hear her say those words? I would have waited a lifetime, no matter what it took, to win Daphne's affection. The thought of finally being able to share my life with the woman I love made me feel invincible. It was something I'd never felt before in my previous marriages. That's how I knew this was the right thing to do. Not even for a moment did I have second thoughts about taking this step. As Daphne and I walked out of our apartment, neither of us knew what our future held. But we knew one thing for sure: Whatever it was, we would face it together.

**The End**


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